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Head for a 600W 4x10 Cab: To under or overpower?

#21
RickenBoogie said:
Also, assuming the Mesa cab is an 8 ohm cab, the amp is likely putting out LESS power than you think.
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Well the mesa boogie is 8 ohm (standard) or 4 ohm. Here is what the back panel says

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Cabs/PowerhouseCABS/PH-PlayerNetwork-LG.htm

I have this hooked up to the head via ONE speaker cable, not speakon. On the back panel of the head it says "550 watts into 1x4 ohms or 2x8 ohms. I was assuming the way I had it hooked up now with the one cable meant its at 4 ohms on the head but since the cab doesn't say anything about 4 ohms, I have no idea what it actually is right now.
 
#22
frankthetank727 said:
Well the mesa boogie is 8 ohm (standard) or 4 ohm. Here is what the back panel says

http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Bass_Cabs/PowerhouseCABS/PH-PlayerNetwork-LG.htm

I have this hooked up to the head via ONE speaker cable, not speakon. On the back panel of the head it says "550 watts into 1x4 ohms or 2x8 ohms. I was assuming the way I had it hooked up now with the one cable meant its at 4 ohms on the head but since the cab doesn't say anything about 4 ohms, I have no idea what it actually is right now.
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your cab is 8 ohms, your head can run at 8 or 4. Only hook your head to your cab via one cable! You could add a second matching cab to gain quite a bit of volume, or your cab could probably handle a bit more power than what you are putting in to it now, but it wouldnt be as great as adding a second cab.
 
#25
frankthetank727 said:
I actually just tried researching even more about this head and it looks like 550 watts is the peak and its about 350watts rms (kind of weird that this information was hard to find if you ask me) so I really think I'm not getting enough power for that cab right now.
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so it's 500 or so peak, into 4Ω?

that means you've got maybe 200 watts RMS pushing that 8Ω cab.

that's plenty of room for a higher-powered head (like actually 500w or even more RMS) to make a difference.
 
#27
walterw said:
so it's 500 or so peak, into 4Ω?

that means you've got maybe 200 watts RMS pushing that 8Ω cab.

that's plenty of room for a higher-powered head (like actually 500w or even more RMS) to make a difference.
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It also means the amp has power in reserve and would putout more power with another 8 ohm Mesa 410!! ;)

EDIT: But, if the OP doesn’t like the amp - by all means, they should replace it.
 
#28
go get yourself a used GK 700RBII, hook it up to your Mesa 4x10 and prepare to smile ear to ear! You should be able to pick up one of those used for about $350....GK amps are known for being way louder than they are rated - kinda the opposite of your current experience!
I did exactly this (except paired w/ a GK cab) a year ago, and I'm still smiling that same original smile! :hyper:
 
#29
Thanks so much everybody! This has all been way more information that I had expected to get and I really appreciate all the positive and useful feedback. The good thing about the Orange Terror is that it tells you straight away that its 500W RMS, with a switchable 8 ohm/4 ohm knob so that looks appealing given my situation. I will definitely go play this head and also look for that GK 700RBII as suggested by the last post and compare to see what I like better.
 
#30
another very good option (especially on a budget) is to wrangle a regular PA power amp and run a preamp into that, maybe even the preamp-out from the head you have now.

a used QSC RMX can be had cheap, and even the bottom of the line 850 will be way more power than you have now if you bridge it.
 
#31
frankthetank727 said:
The good thing about the Orange Terror is that it tells you straight away that its 500W RMS, with a switchable 8 ohm/4 ohm knob so that looks appealing given my situation.
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Why is the switchable 8 ohm/4 ohm knob so appealing? Do you have an extra cab you're not telling us about? It is my understanding that your cab runs at 8 ohms so you wouldn't need a 4 ohm load. Not that it matters; I haven't heard of a head that doesn't handle a 4 ohm load. :D

The switchable 8/4 ohm knob is pretty standard practice in the sense that virtually all heads run safely at 8 and 4 ohms.

Edit: I have heard that the Orange Terror's signal is very scooped. You may want to take that into account if that's not your thing, especially considering that your current head doesn't seem to be delivering the power you need. Scooped equalizing gives nice drive to your tone but it tends to bury you in the mix.
 
#32
Citizen Snips said:
Edit: I have heard that the Orange Terror's signal is very scooped. You may want to take that into account if that's not your thing, especially considering that your current head doesn't seem to be delivering the power you need. Scooped equalizing gives nice drive to your tone but it tends to bury you in the mix.
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That's good to know. I tend to like my EQ near flat with some boosts in the high end and low end slightly. However it also depends on the people I play with so I also adjust my eq based on their guitars to help myself stand out in the mix better. Like I said though, I'm going to play on some heads first and then decide
 
#33
Let me try to sell you on the Terror :hyper:

(Full disclosure, I owned the Orange for a couple months before switching to the Aguilar Tone Hammer - just better for what I do, IMHO. If I was doing anything at all more aggressive, I'd still have it. Also, I haven't played any of the other heads mentioned here. So there, throw my opinion out if you must ;) )

Orange Terror are some cool heads but they are probably not what you want if you are looking for clean power.
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For clean power, just keep the gain down. Plenty of room on the master. There's also an input pad for further preamp headroom. And the dirty power? Well it sounds AWESOME if you want it. You said you play metal? Yeah, you could probably stop reading here and go buy it :D

Budget right now isn't huge, however, if you suggest that something that is worth it, I could spend the time saving up for it. I just want to know what some good suggestions would be nonetheless. So maybe suggesting a few things across a few price ranges would be helpful too.
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These pop up once and a while as refurb units for $100 or so less than typ. (I'm typing this on a refurb MacBook from 2006, still going strong for $200 less!)

Why is the switchable 8 ohm/4 ohm knob so appealing? Do you have an extra cab you're not telling us about? It is my understanding that your cab runs at 8 ohms so you wouldn't need a 4 ohm load. Not that it matters; I haven't heard of a head that doesn't handle a 4 ohm load.

The switchable 8/4 ohm knob is pretty standard practice in the sense that virtually all heads run safely at 8 and 4 ohms.

Edit: I have heard that the Orange Terror's signal is very scooped. You may want to take that into account if that's not your thing, especially considering that your current head doesn't seem to be delivering the power you need. Scooped equalizing gives nice drive to your tone but it tends to bury you in the mix.
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These are all great points. If you haven't, read the BGM review (Link Removed) it explains a lot. As for the ohm switching, all that is is a switchable limiter so that more juice can be put out (with a slight increase in %THD) to achieve a true 500W@8ohm or the stock 500W@4ohm. This means you can get the same power as a typical 1000W@4ohm head. Keep in mind though, 2x power = 3dB increase in "loudness." More, yes, but typically a bit underwhelming. And about the scooped'ness, the EQ is baked to be flat when L-M-H are at all the way down-all the way up-all the way down. Again, once you know that, it's easier to stay away from Scoopsville, UK.

Finally, if you hear with your eyes (not that there's anything wrong with that!), have you seen a cooler looking head? :bassist::bassist:
 

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